Linebacker Kevin Brown proving he's special for Ottawa Redblacks

Ottawa Redblacks linebacker Kevin Brown doesn’t get hung up on the what ifs, he’s not thinking about what might have been.

There were the two interceptions last Friday in Montreal (a 28-18 Ottawa win) — one taken away by an illegal contact penalty, the other because he couldn’t hang onto the ball on a diving attempt. Sure he thinks about missed opportunities, but more importantly, there was the important W in the Canadian Football League East Division standings and the opportunity to learn from the mistakes and focus on an important home game Thursday night against the Calgary Stampeders.

“All I can do is play the next down. It hurt but I can’t focus on the past,” said Brown. “I knew the next drive, it could be my play to make. It was difficult in the moment, I went from high to low. But it is what it is, it’s part of football. I had to move on.”

On the diving attempt, Brown said: “I should have caught that. My momentum from hitting the ground, my arms kind of popped the ball up out of my hands. I tried to roll on it with my helmet, but it didn’t work.”

The 24-year-old is settling in nicely as a key defensive contributor.

“He’s done a really good job this year both on special teams and defence,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell. “He’s been very no-nonsense. He’s earned himself a starting job. He’s done a very good job on the punt and kickoff teams — a lot of times those starter guys don’t get credit for what they do on special teams. He’s doing his part, we just need him to keep growing and getting better.”

“I’m trying to play my role,” said Brown. “Our goal is to be the best at what we do, get to the Grey Cup. That comes with playing hard on every snap. When I’m in the game — defence or special teams — I’m playing as hard as I can.”

Brown dressed for 11 regular-season games in 2017, contributing 15 defensive tackles and seven more on special teams. He had eight defensive tackles and one on special teams as the Redblacks fell 31-20 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in an East Division semifinal playoff game. So far this season, he has nine defensive tackles, with four more on special teams.

“They were telling me the whole time (in 2017) to stay ready,” said Brown. “That was my mindset, be ready. You never know when that opportunity is going to come. When your number’s called, sometimes you only get one chance. I knew what I had to do. I stepped up and guess I showed them enough for them to be confident enough in me to play me more.”

While the Redblacks looked very sharp defensively in Game 1 of the season and very good through most of Game 2, it looked like they took their foot off the gas pedal in Montreal.

“We could have played a lot better and held them to less points in the fourth quarter,” said Brown. “We have to close out games. The mentality has to be to play every down like it’s 0-0 — to fly around, make plays and live in the moment instead of looking to do more than we’re asked to do. We have a lot of work to do. We have Calgary this week, we have to have a way better performance.”

Two weeks ago, the Redblacks hung tough in Calgary before losing 24-14. Last year, in Ottawa, the teams played to a 31-31 overtime tie. Brown, who wears No. 31 on his jersey, thinks maybe there’s karma in that: “I’m hoping there’s some kind of significance with this 31, maybe we can get more points this time. We know what we have to do, they’re pretty fresh in our memory bank. They’re going to play their game, but we’re focused on us, we just have to outplay them.”

A TOP PERFORMER: Redblacks receiver Brad Sinopoli has been named one of the CFL’s Shaw Top Performers for Week 4. In Montreal, Sinopoli caught 11 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, averaging 13.5 yards per reception. Sinopoli now has 262 receiving yards on 21 receptions this season. Other top performers for the week were Winnipeg linebacker Adam Bighill and Toronto running back James Wilder. Speaking about Sinopoli, Campbell said: “I’m glad for him personally that he gets some acknowledgment. He’s a steady guy. Any Redblacks fan knows Brad plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He plays hard and does his thing game in and game out. He deserves all the credit he gets.”

UP NEXT: While the Stampeders and Redblacks faced each other two weeks ago, you can probably expect a little of the unexpected Thursday. Both teams will change up certain looks to try and get an edge. Said Campbell: “They have a pretty good idea of what we are and the same thing for us. The different thing about the CFL is it’s a smaller league so you play everybody at least twice and a couple of teams three times. Everybody gets to know each other. Sometimes you have to change a couple of calls up or have new wrinkles in the game plan.”

THE END AROUND: Redblacks kicker Lewis Ward drilled a field goal through the uprights and directly off the rear driver-side door of the black and red checkered car that sits in the Subaru Log Cabin beyond the end zone at TD Place near the end of Tuesday’s practice … There will be a Royal Canadian Air Force fly-past (weather permitting) over TD Place Thursday. The fly-past is part of the Redblacks’ annual Canadian Armed Forces appreciation game. One CF-18 jet is scheduled to fly from east to west over the field at TD Place just prior to kickoff … The Redblacks have released receiver Jacob Scarfone (Guelph) and offensive lineman Dillon Guy (University of Buffalo, Ottawa Sooners) … Asked about Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters (who played at Bluesfest Tuesday night), Campbell said: “I liked (Grohl) better as the drummer in Nirvana … Asked about any possible changes to this week’s lineup, Campbell said. “Very minimal. We’ll decide on that (Wednesday), but I would say it’s going to be remarkably the same.”

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